
What Is Great Leadership?
The Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. was an example of one of the most remarkable and inspiring leaders of our time.
As we are desperately seeking good leadership in our country today, it is important to recognize that powerful leadership is defined in two ways. Hitler is an example of a powerful leader and so is Putin, Bashar al-Assad, Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin. Although they possess/ed some of the basic ingredients of leadership in that they are/were decisive, confident and focused, they are evil people with an evil intent.
Like all leaders, they took action and were able to communicate in a way that stirred up their followers. However, they appealed to the lowest levels of human nature and used hatred, fear and rage to manipulate their followers. Using lies and deception, they pitted people against one another and attempted to silence the media by calling it xx (literally “fake news”) and used every means possible to silence anyone who revealed the truth.
Like all bad (evil) leaders, they were arrogant, narcissistic and greedy, seeking only their own interests They had a dictatorial style that used power to overpower others. They neglected empathy altogether and had no problem inflicting pain on others to achieve their demands. (“I’ll be proud to shut down the government.”)
The definition of a powerful, great leader, however, is one who is a source of positive social influence, one who inspires, guides and maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good. Simply put, great leaders are persuasive and inclusive, not divisive. A great leader raises ones spirit, enlightens one’s thinking and unites his/her people behind a common vision. As John Quincy Adams put it,
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Consider some of the world’s recent great leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela. Steve Jobs. Mother Theresa. Bill Gates. They also possessed power, but they used it to empower, not overpower. They all utilized their leadership talents – diverse as they may be – to make lives better in some way: achieving equality, justice, and freedom, making advanced technology available to all of us, improving living conditions in low-income communities, creating a global foundation that propels the idea that all lives have equal value.
A great leader is honest, tells the truth and has integrity. The 34th President of United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower once said,
“The supreme quality of good leadership is unquestionably integrity.
Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.”
Honesty and integrity are two vital ingredients that differentiate leaders.
Finally, a great leader is accountable. They take 100% responsibility for everyone’s performance, including their own. They don’t blame others, hide behind others or avoid ownership for the role they play in the results produced.
In light of the past 2 years, it is clear that our President and Congress, leaders all, have demonstrated the characteristics of very bad leadership, not great leadership. Please reflect on the words of a truly great leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking.
There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.
Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
(Note: I delayed this WoW to see what the President of the US would do and say on Martin Luther King Day. The Leader of the Free World, the person who represents who we are as a country, made a TWO MINUTE photo op to drop off a wreath and WAS absolutely SILENT about Dr. King. Later however, he would tweet his support for the Kentucky students who mocked, ridiculed and threatened the Native American Man beating his drum. Most were wearing their red MAGA caps.)
Throughout history evil leaders have been racists, and held themselves to be superior to anyone else – every single one of them!!
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
Dr. King was not silent. He knew what he stood for and his voice was heard. He made a positive, powerful difference during his short lifetime and his legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of those who stand for justice, equality and freedom for all.
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